Mustafa Akinci, the president of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Tuesday called for a diplomatic solution to the growing tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, sparked by the discovery of natural gas deposits in the region
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2020) Mustafa Akinci, the president of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Tuesday called for a diplomatic solution to the growing tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, sparked by the discovery of natural gas deposits in the region.
In early January, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel agreed to construct the EastMed pipeline project to bring natural gas from Israel's Leviathan field and Cyprus' Aphrodite field to Greece and go further to Italy and other southeastern European countries.
Speaking at the International Science Diplomacy Forum on the city of Nicosia, claimed by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots as their capital, Akinci said, as cited by the Anadolu news agency, that the region was at a turning point, and the Republic of Cyprus could either maintain tensions or begin cooperating with the Turkish side.
He also criticized the EastMed pipeline project, undertaken by Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, claiming it lacked scientific basis and once again urged diplomacy as a way out of the crisis.
Cyprus has been split between Greek and Turkish communities since 1974. Turkey's drilling operations in what Cyprus claims to be its exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean have long been a conflicted item between Ankara and Nicosia as well as in a larger European context. The area in question is believed to be rich in hydrocarbon reserves. Both Ankara, which backs the independence movement of the Turkish Cypriots in the north of the island, and the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, believe that exploration for the natural resources in this area is their inherent right.
